237: Zhang Yizhi's betrayal

The azure figure before him charged like a bolt of lightning... only the sound of a "Whoosh—!" could be heard.

Xia Mulin's battle armor erupted with unparalleled speed, closing the distance to Zhang Yizhi in an instant.

The moment the Fengrui Battle Blade was summoned, a cold light flashed!

The mechanical arm was raised high, and the battle blade slashed down fiercely.

Zhang Yizhi hastily summoned a bowl-shaped Magical Artifact to block, but the azure attack directly pierced through the artifact.

With a bang, the bowl-shaped Magical Artifact exploded on the spot.

The Fengrui Battle Blade's power remained undiminished, and it was about to strike his vital points.

Zhang Yizhi's expression changed drastically; at the critical moment, he suddenly circulated the Cloud Heaven Sect's Profound Rank Top-grade Cultivation Technique—the Yuntian Dragon-Trapping Hand.

In an instant, his hands moved rapidly in front of him, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi fluctuated violently. Immediately after, an invisible wall formed in front of him to halt the opponent's offensive.

With a loud "Boom," the azure battle blade struck the incredibly hard invisible wall and was unable to move an inch, instead being repelled!

This wasn't over; Zhang Yizhi's figure suddenly stepped forward to attack again.

With a "Clang," he actually took out an Earth Rank Low Grade longsword. With his legs slightly bent, he leaped forward, using his powerful strength to spin and pierce toward Xia Mulin.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

At the moment the former attacked, Xia Mulin not only felt violent energy fluctuations but also seemed to feel an invisible pressure.

It was as if he were fighting a high and mighty sovereign!

Xia Mulin hurriedly drove the azure hope, using every means possible to parry.

A loud "Boom" echoed.

The Fengrui Battle Blade in front of him suddenly shattered, and the azure battle armor also cracked all over with spiderweb patterns in an instant.

"Bang—!"

Xia Mulin's body flew out like a broken kite, crashing heavily into a deserted mechanical barracks in the distance.

[Beep! Damage! 83% damage!]

[Beep! Damage! Energy storage leak!]

[Beep! Damage!...]

[Armed Equipment mecha ejecting!]

"Cough... cough... Pfft...!"

Stepping out of the azure hope, Xia Mulin spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked up in disbelief at the native being who had attacked him, his eyes wide.

"Why would a Cultivator of this level suddenly appear in the Mechanical City!"

Could it be... he specifically came to carry out a decapitation strike against me!?

At this moment, several figures appeared in his mind one after another. Finally, Xia Mulin locked onto the culprit.

Not many native beings knew of his "Intellect Brain" identity. Besides that Man in White Robes who had greeted him with ten thousand arrows, only You Ruo and Jiang Ning remained.

Not to mention the Man in White Robes, his reach couldn't extend into the Mechanical City.

You Ruo had been brainwashed into an idiot, so she didn't count.

Thus, the truth was obvious—Jiang Ning of Black Blood Mountain City!

It could only be his plan!

Just after completing a transaction with my side, he immediately guided a powerful expert to carry out a decapitation strike against me. It seems that Jiang Ning is definitely not a good person.

Yes! It must be that Cultivator named Jiang Ning!

Otherwise, it couldn't be that the opponent accidentally got lost and happened to run into me.

Up ahead, Zhang Yizhi's attack had succeeded, but he did not pursue the victory. He only walked over slowly.

Precisely because of this action, it undoubtedly gave Xia Mulin a good opportunity for a sneak attack!

"System! Replicate azure hope!"

[Ding! Replication successful!]

In the next moment, Xia Mulin summoned his Armed Equipment and suddenly charged forward. While Zhang Yizhi was off guard, his mechanical arm swung a punch, hitting him right in the face.

Pfft!

Zhang Yizhi was struck by the mechanical iron fist, his body rolling and flying over ten meters away like a broken kite.

So much pain... the violent impact made Zhang Yizhi see stars, and his entire skeleton seemed to be aching.

He finally managed to steady himself and swallowed a Medicinal Pill to recover his state.

No! He's not here for a tour!

This sudden attack took Zhang Yizhi by surprise, but he quickly realized the other party's identity—this guy in front of him turned out to be a Bandit Cultivators!

Fine! What I hate most are Bandit Cultivatorss!

Then I'll capture you alive first, and then go find the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons!

Zhang Yizhi gritted his teeth, immediately scrambled up, and launched a fierce attack toward the opponent again.

Although Xia Mulin was far inferior in terms of speed, strength, or flexibility, he had many replication points.

[Beep, 93% damage!]

[Exchange!]

[Beep, 87% damage!]

[Exchange!]

Every time one of Xia Mulin's azure hope was destroyed, he could immediately switch to another brand new one, not to mention the large number of mechanical spiders and various potions.

Zhang Yizhi held his longsword and attacked continuously, performing various powerful Cultivation Techniques.

However, as long as he couldn't kill Xia Mulin in one hit, the latter could always remain at his Peak state!

One scrapped, another comes.

Zhang Yizhi was bewildered as to why the opponent was so difficult to deal with and was so determined to rob him... In the distant battlefield, many Nascent Soul level experts were fighting to the death. The fluctuations alone were enough to deter ordinary Cultivators.

And on the half-step Soul Transformation battlefield high in the sky, it was even more tragic. Every energy explosion made the space tremble.

The situation of the battles on the two battlefields was still unclear; one could only vaguely see figures constantly colliding.

At this time, inside the Nine Sects Allied Army's temporary camp.

Seventeen figures returned; they were the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens of the Nine Sects.

As soon as they appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of many Nine Sects Allied Army Cultivators.

Many older generation experts had looks of approval in their eyes, while the young Cultivators' faces were full of awe.

These seventeen people were almost the strongest lineup of the current generation in Donglin Prefecture!

They played a huge role in the battle against the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, eliminating many Outer Realm Heavenly Demon experts.

Among them, the Seven Emperor Sword Sect Holy Son Lan An and the Xinglai Sect Saintess had the most outstanding performances.

Just how outstanding?

The two of them were ranked first and second on the demon slaying ranking respectively!

The Heavenly Demons they killed were not only numerous, but they even killed many Golden Core Level Heavenly Demons!

Therefore, when they returned to the Nine Sects Allied Army camp, they naturally received a grand welcome.

All along the way, there was nothing but praise and songs.

But they looked straight ahead throughout the journey, walking directly into the commander's tent.

"So impressive! Our Nine Sects' Holy Sons and Holy Maidens are truly powerful!"

"Indeed, I witnessed it all on the battlefield these past few days."

"Look!"

As he spoke, that person took out a Record Stone. The images within were all scenes of the Nine Sects' Holy Sons and Holy Maidens killing in all directions; every segment could be called shocking.

Exclamations immediately rang out all around.

"Were these all killed by the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens? How many years have they been practicing the Dao? How can they be so powerful!"

"With this kind of strength, even in the large prefectures, they would probably be considered Super Prodigies."

"Yes, I've already begun to look forward to the future Struggle for the Sovereign Seat! It will certainly be exciting!"

As they talked, someone frowned: "Wait, isn't there one Holy Son or Holy Maiden missing from the Nine Sects?"

"That's right, there are only seventeen people; one is really missing."

Soon, many discovered that the Yuntian Saint—Zhang Yizhi's figure—was missing.

Looking again, they couldn't see the other party's name on the demon slaying ranking at all. What did this mean? This meant that Zhang Yizhi hadn't killed even a single Outer Realm Heavenly Demon!

"I heard that he had already left his Sect back when the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons first invaded. Why hasn't he shown up yet?"

"Could it be that he's afraid of death?!"

"Hehe, it seems he really isn't anything good! We've been fighting the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons for over a month; even if he were crawling, he should have crawled here by now!"

"Maybe he was scared out of his wits by the Outer Realm Heavenly Demon invasion and has already left Donglin Prefecture."

"Sigh, I really thought Holy Son Zhang was a hero..."

For a time, public opinion spread, gradually portraying Zhang Yizhi as someone everyone despised. Even many Cloud Heaven Sect Disciples and Elders began to waver in their beliefs.

"Could it be... our Holy Son Zhang really ran away?"

Slowly, the rumors intensified.

Finally, when Bai Mengdie and Qin Zixuan learned the news, it had already become: Yuntian Saint Zhang Yizhi is afraid of death and has already defected to the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons!

Yuntian Saint Zhang Yizhi is suspected of defection.

Bai Mengdie did not believe these extremely absurd rumors.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"He is definitely not that kind of person."

Bai Mengdie didn't think Zhang Yizhi would betray them, but it wasn't until she performed a Locating Secret Technique to pinpoint his exact location... "What! He's actually really in the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons' lair!!!"

Did Zhang Yizhi really defect!?